GARETH Edwards once played England Under-19s cricket alongside Andrew Flintoff and made a first-class appearance for home county Glamorgan.

But the Elton captain will not have experienced too many better weeks on and off the field than the one just gone.

The off-spinning Welshman, an age-group contemporary of the Ashes 2005 set in the mid-1990s, started last week by celebrating the birth of his second child – baby daughter Mabel to join big sister Alice – on Tuesday.

He then took a break from nappy-changing duties on Saturday to help second-placed Elton secure promotion to the GMCL’s Championship Division for next season with a 10-wicket win at Bury seconds.

On top of that, he was the star with a season’s best 6-17 from 11 overs as the hosts were skittled for just 44.

Elton’s win left them on the brink of promotion from Division Two B, something which was confirmed later in the day when Winton failed to get a bonus point in a victory at Littleborough Lakeside.

“We’re seven points clear of Winton with a game to go (and only six on offer),” said a delighted Edwards.

“It was a bit of a rollercoaster week, but it turned out brilliantly.

“My daughter was born on Tuesday, and I’m lucky my wife is very understanding and was fine for me to play on Saturday.

“There were no problems at home. My little girl was fit and healthy.

“Then we managed to get a convincing win, and the other result went our way.

“It’s mission accomplished. We started the season with the sole aim of getting promoted, especially with the restructure of the GMCL coming in.

“There's still the possibility of being champions if Shaw slip up at the top on Saturday. That would be a cherry on the cake.

“I’m thrilled for all the players who have played and also for the club.”

Edwards, whose side host Werneth in the final round of fixtures this Saturday, continued: “It’s always nice to contribute individually.

"The second half of the season, my wickets have dried up a bit, whereas others have come to the fore, mainly Stephen Filkins.

“I got quite a few of my wickets early on.”

Edwards elected to bowl on a damp pitch a break from their normal tactic of batting first and posting a target for their potent bowling attack.

Next season, Elton will play second-tier cricket in the GMCL for the first time since 2016, the year the competition was formed.

They have narrowly missed out on promotion a couple of times since, something their skipper believes is a good thing on reflection.

Edwards added: “We would rather have had a couple of seasons lower down and got back into the winning habit rather than going up too soon.

“We’ve been very competitive for the last three seasons and missed out on promotion by one place for the last two.

“Now we’ve got a better foundation to go up.

“We have a better selection of lads who you’d say are first-team players. Competition for places is as strong as it has been for a number years.

“It’s going to be a big challenge next season because there will be some really good sides in that league. But we look forward to it.”